3 charts that highlight bitcoin's recent momentum

Bitcoin prices have seen a big jump in August.

Bitcoin was rising Monday near the $80,000 level that it last touched in May, after the cryptocurrency surged last week on the Treasury Department's plans to buy back longer-dated Treasurys.

Bitcoin - which took a sharp turn higher following an extended rough patch after Treasury's buyback announcement renewed the dollar-debasement trade - is now outperforming both gold and U.S stocks gauged by the S&P 500 over a rolling six-month period, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Investors turned to bitcoin and gold last week as the U.S. dollar weakened and Treasury yields climbed in the wake of the buyback announcement.

The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF IBIT, the largest exchange-traded fund tracking spot prices of the cryptocurrency, on Friday saw its biggest daily inflow since January as investors added about $1 billion to it last week, FactSet data show.

The Treasury Department announced on Aug. 19 that it planned to increase its buybacks of longer-dated Treasurys starting Sept. 9, and although yields on such securities initially fell on the plans, their reversal the following day kept investors on edge about rising borrowing costs against the backdrop of fiscal deficits and $40 trillion of U.S. debt.

"Treasury changed the market conversation even if it did not change monetary policy," said Stephen Innes, global strategist at Quintex Intel, in a note emailed Monday. "The larger buybacks remain small relative to the Treasury market and are officially intended to support liquidity, but traders now know Washington is prepared to respond when the long end becomes sufficiently uncomfortable."

ETFs have made it easier for conventional investors to express "the debasement narrative," with bitcoin becoming the "higher beta sibling" of gold for the same macro trade, according to Innes.

The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, which attracted $503 million from investors on Friday, posted a sharp climb of 2.2% on Monday after surging almost 23% last week, FactSet data showed.

Following the Treasury Department's announcement of bigger buybacks, both the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF and SPDR Gold Shares GLD rose into overbought territory based on the relative strength index over a 14-day period, according to Dow Jones Market Data. An RSI level above 70 is traditionally viewed as overbought, with a reading exceeding 80 indicating heavily overbought territory.

On Monday afternoon, bitcoin prices (BTCUSD) were up around 1.8% at almost $79,000 based on a CoinDesk index, at last check.

Even after its recent surge, bitcoin, which is highly volatile, remains down so far in 2026. Gold prices (GC00) were rising Monday, bringing the yellow metal's gain so far this year to more than 8% after jumping more than 14% just this month, FactSet data showed, as last check.

Long-term Treasury yields BX:TMUBMUSD10Y BX:TMUBMUSD30Y retreated Monday from their climb last week, while the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY was recovering a portion of its losses seen last week but was still down in August.

Major U.S. stock benchmarks finished mostly lower Monday, with the S&P 500 SPX and Nasdaq composite COMP each declining while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA rose, according to FactSet data. The S&P 500 has climbed 11.1% over the past six months, bringing its year-to-date gain to 11.8% through Monday.

-Christine Idzelis